My musing about Pope Francis inviting non-Catholics to observe or even join the Cardinal Council was a throwaway thought in an earlier post today. Pope John XXIII of sainted (literally) memory invited Orthodox, Anglicans, and Protestants to Vatican II.
So why not add a new side to the octagon? It’s not like the Elite Eight will make any decisions. We’ve been told all along that Pope Francis will listen to the discussion and the final call will be his. Heck, he could just invite eight lay people, right?
In all seriousness, widening the fold on the level of consultation is very likely premature. We Roman Catholics have too many issues. In an ideal world, we would be discussing ecumenism, evangelization, the role of women, among other churchy issues. Not to mention the serious issues of economics, peace, slavery, the environment. For that, Pope Francis would really need lay people taking the lead in the consulting bodies.
But back to the question headlining this post: will non-Catholics get the Pope to pay attention to them? Would they have anything substantive to say to add to his discernment? If not now, then when?
Catholic Sensibility 